---
title: "Uber Aims to Replace Delivery Drivers With Drones"
description: "Uber hopes to replace UberEats drivers with autonomous drones by 2021. Even if that happens, the question remains whether people actually want this."
date: "2018-10-22"
modified: "2018-10-22"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/uber-delivery-drones"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "drones"
  - "the digest"
  - "Uber"
  - "uber eats"
---

# Uber Aims to Replace Delivery Drivers With Drones

![Default Futurism featured image](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Futurism-Filler-Image.jpg>)

## Drone Home

Uber, a $120 billion company that [does not make money](<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-valued-at-62-billion-still-loses-money-on-its-rides/>), just announced a literal flight of fancy.

The ride-hailing service wants to transition its delivery program Uber Eats from human drivers to autonomous, airborne drones. And it wants to do it by 2021, [according to *The Wall Street Journal*](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-ambitiously-eyes-2021-for-food-delivery-drones-launch-1540163425?mod=e2tw>).

## Who's Driving?

The future is inexorably defined by those with the money to shape it. According to *The WSJ*, Uber executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the words “we need flying burgers” out loud, in real life.

Let’s just take a second to let that sink in**,** and be grateful that Silicon Valley has its priorities so well-aligned with the rest of us.

## Delivery Instructions

This isn’t the first time Uber launched a new venture in the face of enormous technological and [legal hurdles](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nyc-uber-cap>). The company is still working to develop [its flying taxi service](<https://futurism.com/flying-cars-tethered-power-lines>), and a network of flying drones will face similar challenges that make the 2021 goal a bit of a stretch.

But what this does mean is that the company that changed being designated driver from a real slog into a profession is now trying to take work away from [its network of drivers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/san-francisco-traffic-uber-lyft>).

If this comes to pass, instead of telling a courier which apartment to buzz and giving them a tip, I’m gonna have to go outside, figure out how to open up some dumb robot’s storage box, and hope its [propellers don’t take me out](<https://gizmodo.com/tgi-fridays-dumb-mistletoe-drone-cut-sombodys-face-open-1668233262>) while I’m grabbing my 'burg. Hard pass.

**READ MORE**: Uber Ambitiously Eyes 2021 for Food-Delivery Drones Launch \[*[The Wall Street Journal](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-ambitiously-eyes-2021-for-food-delivery-drones-launch-1540163425?mod=e2tw>)*\]

***More on Uber’s ‘ambitious’ projects:*** ***[Uber Plans To Launch Flying Taxis With Technology That Doesn’t Exist](<https://futurism.com/uber-flying-taxis>)***

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)